The Perfect Christmas
by Kristen3
Summary: Knowing that it will be her last Christmas with her family, Maggie Andrews receives a gift from her son which reminds her not only how much she is loved, but also the true meaning of the holiday. One-shot that might require Kleenex! ;)


**Author's Note: **I just watched this movie on DVD the other day. The end always gets me, but somehow this time, I wound up with a story idea. It sort of wouldn't go away, so I figured I'd better do it. I hope this does justice to the movie, and I'm sorry this is so heartbreaking. I still think it's one of the best parts of the movie, though.

This was never how Maggie Andrews had pictured Christmas. But with her heart failing, she didn't have much choice. Her husband Jack and young son Nathan were doing their best to pretend it was a normal holiday, but everyone knew it wasn't. If it were normal, she wouldn't have had to step down from volunteering at Nathan's school. Thankfully, Mrs. Layton had taken over her duties, and had even come up with a few good ideas of her own for the class choir. If Maggie listened hard enough, she could hear them caroling through town right now. The children's voices sounded beautiful.

Jack looked at his wife, hating to see her stuck in a hospital bed, hooked up to oxygen just to keep her alive. He knew how hard she was fighting. Deep down, he knew she should just give up, but she wouldn't. Not on Christmas Eve. He and Nathan weren't ready to be without her, but it didn't seem to matter.

"Could...could we dance?" Maggie whispered. It seemed to take all the breath she could muster just to get the words out.

"Of course. I thought you'd never ask," Jack said with a smile as he lowered the bed rail and unhooked her oxygen. He took her in his arms, noting that she weighed almost nothing. Yet another sign that she was dying. He held her close, walking in circles. It wasn't the way either of them wanted to be dancing, but it was the best they could do under the circumstances. After he'd gone around a couple times, Jack noticed that Maggie could barely keep her eyes open. She seemed even paler than she'd been a moment ago. His heart stopped. "Maggie," he said.

It took all the strength she had, but Maggie managed to open her eyes. Just enough to let Jack know she was still there.

A rush of relief went through Jack. "Maggie, if you want to..." He couldn't even finish the sentence. He and Nathan weren't ready. But he knew they never would be.

"N-no," Maggie said. "Nathan." Her son had rushed out of here earlier. She hadn't blamed him. He didn't need to see her like this, especially not on Christmas Eve. It seemed he had something more important on his mind.

"Mom! Mom!" Nathan shouted as he came in through the door. He'd never run so fast in his life. He hoped he'd made it home in time. "Look what I got for you!" He held out the pair of shoes. They'd cost literally every nickel he had, but they were more than worth it. The bright red design with silver accents was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Very gently, Jack lowered his wife back into the bed so that Maggie could see the shoes. She smiled at the sight of Nathan's gift. "Put them on me," she said.

Nathan did as she'd instructed, then came back up to the head of the bed. "Dalton helped me collect soda cans," he explained. "I must've gotten about a hundred! But when I went to pay for the shoes, I didn't have enough money. I didn't want to come home without a gift for you. But there was a man standing behind me, and he paid for the rest. I knew you had to have these shoes." There were tears in his eyes as he bent down to hug her.

Maggie took a deep breath as she felt her son's arms around her. He must have spent so many afternoons with Dalton gathering enough cans. The teacher was surely a godsend. There were many things Maggie wanted to say to her husband and son. Even if she'd been able to breathe, she still wouldn't have been able to find all the words. But she could see in their faces that she didn't need to say anything. "Remember," she said, putting her hand on Nathan's heart. She'd explained to him earlier that, although she would be gone, she would always remain in his heart.

"I know, Mom. I promise I won't forget." Nathan once again hugged her.

This might not have been the Christmas Maggie had been expecting, and yet, somehow, it was perfect.

**The End**


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